August 31, 2009

Lolita-Charm writes some pretty damn good articles on lolita. As this blog is slowly becoming yet ANOTHER lolita blog.

But the article on Lolita Charm got my attention. Are we REALLY driving new lolitas away from the fashion? Is the EGL community driving people away?

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, the EGL community, in spite of all the drama that goes on, is a vital resource for any lolita. It provides a constant stream of what’s new and old in the lolita world, and provides multiple links, advice, and thoughts to every lolita who has access.

In the Lolita-Charm article, it is stated that the drama and hurtful comments on the lolita comm keeps girls from joining or asking questions there. While this is a valid point, I must point out that a lot of the drama happens OFF the EGL main comm. Offshoots like loli_secret, and gtfo_egl is where alot of the bitching happens. EGL rarely makes a reference to these issues. If you don’t like the drama, that’s cool. Don’t join up with the communities.

Also, the comms mentioned above NEVER chew out younger lolitas. Mostly they point out when a person is rude, ignoranct, annoying, etc. Unless said young lolita does something TROLLISH, it won’t end up there.

So young lolitas, join up! You are the continuers of the lolita fashion. For every lolita that falls out of the fashion, you take her place!

I agree with Lolita-Charm’s recognization of the internet as a powerful tool in the lolita fashion. But it, like any power, must be used with careful hands. Now, with lolita becoming more popular, more fashion magazines, bloggers, etc, are finding out about it. We need the community to keep evolving, but we also need a constant variable. We need a control, something that will always be there no matter what.

Lolitas are different. We differ in styles, beliefs, thoughts and lifestyles. We are indeed connected by the clothes we wear, because of common fashion, expiriences, and wishes.

But I sure as hell don’t expect a lolita who happens to own Princess Drop JSK to love Flight of the Conchords and playing Zelda.

The differences among lolitas are what makes us unique. Lolitas have found ways to take these differences and rock them. Young lolitas, if you like to wear big pink Ray-Bands with your outfit, go for it! Unless your ideas are completely trollish, post em! Someone will love them!

Just remember girls, lolita, first and foremost, is a FASHION. This is the INTERNET. If one person doesn’t like your outfit, or if we think you should maybe get a different pair of socks for that dress, don’t despair. Don’t leave the fashion.

We are all lolitas, we all look ridiculous, we all have had someone say something mean to us. But that’s lolita.

To be a lolita is constantly debated. When are you made a lolita? I do believe it’s when you stop absorbing common lolita myths, (ie. lolitas should all be nice princess!) and start being YOU, just in petticoat and headdress.

JAPANESE LOLITAS ARE MUCH MORE OPEN TO INTERPRETATION OF THE LOLITA FASHION!

JAPANESE LOLITAS HAVE A MUCH MORE FLEXIBLE VIEW OF THE STYLE!

JAPANESE LOLITAS AREN’T MEAN!!!!!!!!!!

Have you heard any of these sentiments expressed before? Have you ever expressed one of these sentiments yourself? The above sayings are often said when questions are asked about lolita in Japan. Or when Western lolitas are telling a girl (often an ita, and often a noob) off. Well.. are the Japanese lolitas so much more nicer then the Western lolitas? Are they are sparkle-sparkle ribbons and lace compared to our gtfo_egl?

Let’s start off with the basics:

In any Gothic and Lolita bible, or any lolita information site, there is often a statement along the lines of, “Lolitas should be extremely poilte.” This is from the Gothic and Lolita bible, which is a Japanese production, so it must mean that all Japanese lolitas are super polite and nice!

Number 2, it’s so hard to picture the lolita idols from Japane being mean. It’s hard to imagine Sae and her group of friends laughing at some girl’s failed attempt at lolita. It’s hard to picture Misako Aoki snidely commenting on another girl’s picture of art. It’s hard for us to picture the sweet, smiling lolitas of Japan, dressed perfectly in their lolita outfits, having fun at someone else’s expense.

So I made a picture to help illustate the point.

(picture up soon sorry)

Well.. here’s the truth. Japanese lolitas are just as mean to failed attempts as we are.

Japan is an extremely non-confrontional society, so if you want to talk smack, you don’t dare say it to the person’s face. So, no lolita will want to be seen laughing or speaking rudely to another.

Secondly, they may not have their extensive system of communities like gtfo_egl, lolita_wank, and loli_fucks, but they sure do have a forum system. It’s where the lolitas go to discuss the new dresses coming out, what they should do if someone speakings rudely to them, what they should do if this dress doesn’t look right, where to find deals, and what failures in the fashion that they saw today.

Just like us.

So why don’t we know of these places? Well, the majority doesn’t really frequent the Japanese equavilant of lolita_wank. Besides, why should we bother with knowing who Sae and her buddies are laughing at when we have our OWN people to laugh at? We just use the Japanese sights for the information on the dresses we covet.

For example, Japanese lolitas like to talk about smokers in lolita, and how one girls Moi-Meme-Moite petticoat was stained a yellowish color from the smoke. Or how a girl at a VK concert ripped of her petticoat to dance. Oh snap.

When people say that the Japanese lolitas are open to a more flexible interpretation of lolita, it’s the non-conformity thing again. We don’t walk up to itas we don’t know and tell them, “you’re doing it wrong.”

Also, why bother with someone else’s view of lolita dress when you’re in a fabulous coordinate. People will pay attention to YOU, not the person in the horrid black and white dress.

Also, the lolita trends that brands go through (i.e, parfait prints, then carnival prints, then stripes, then tartan, etc) are directly influenced by Japanese lolita community. They have more say in the Gothic and Lolita bible then we do. So their view on the fashion changes, just like ours.

In short, Japanese lolitas aren’t all sugar and spice and everything nice. They are just as mean as us Western lolitas. They have opinions on how lolita should and shouldn’t be done, but due to the social viewpoints, they don’t voice it to each others face. They ARE elitists, like us. A person in a terribly-made, lace-drowning dress is not going to make it into the Street Snap.

DISCLAIMER: I am not saying that all lolitas should be cruel to each other. I simply support the right to say what sometimes must be said.

August 20, 2009

Cause y’all know I’m never satisfied unless the entires are divided into PARTS.

So, I have been thinking about my own short piece of lolita literature. It’s still in the works. Hopefully, by Friday or something, it will be up. Meanwhile, to help me, myself, and others, I’ve decided to put up a MST-esq sort of post. As in a list of things to avoid when writing lolita literature. Now, yes, this may seem harsh. Yes, it may seem like I am limiting your creativity. Well, I don’t control how you write. But if you want to create a decent lolita story, that WON’T bring eye-rolling, head-desking, facepalming, brain/eye bleaching, etc, maybe you want to pay attention.

What you Want to Avoid At All Costs (WWAAAC)/ You Know Your Story Is Bad When (YKYSIBW):

1. Character is not human. Character is (in order of most to least offensive): vampire, angel, demon/devil, witch, reincarnated dead, half-animal anything, doki-doki magical whatever, mermaid, anything you would find in an anime, immortal being, etc.

2. Character has a ridiculous Japanese name. Now, while this may seem to contradict books like Shimostuma Monogatari, we must remember that Shimostsuma was written by a JAPANESE man. It takes place in JAPAN. The character is JAPANESE. It’s okay to feature a character that is Japanese, but seriously, don’t give the character a name like, “Yukinonamidahime Resurorita usagipinkuhanasushi chan.”

3. DON’T just insert random Japanese into your writing.

Example:

Alice Hargreaves stopped and looked over where her friend was pointed. Lying on the grass was a kawaii shiro usagi. It has stolen one of their scones and was nibbling on it. “Kawaii!” Alice cried. “Miru, Miru, Mary-chan, anoko wa usagi wa totemo kawaii desu neeee!”

It’s just wierd to insert random Japanese words and phrases into a predominently ENGLISH story.

4. No one wants to hear about your characters dress. Yes, dress is an important part of lolita. Yes, your character should probably dress lolita if this is a story about lolita. But no, we do not want ever single detail of the dress.

NO: I looked down at my pink Angelic Pretty Magical Etoile jumperskirt. The white with white lace Baby, the Stars Shine Bright blouse I was wearing underneath just felt out of place. My pink polka dot sailor Metamorphose socks felt heavy and too busy. I looked at my white Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Bunny Bag. It’s face stared up at me. I wiggled my toes into my pink Secret Shop Tea Party shoes. My hair felt sticky and poofy, crowding around my pink Angelic Pretty Magical Etoile Alice Bow Headdress. I couldn’t look any of the other lolitas in the eyes. It had just become painfully clear- I, with my Metamorphose socks and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright blouse and bag, was not part of those who dressed in perfect Angelic Pretty. I knew now that my acceptance into the Cult of Angelic Pretty was never to be.

YES: I looked down at my jumperskirt. My blouse’s ruffles stuck out from over the top. I should have ironed them. My socks were slipping down, and my Bunny Bag just felt over-the-top and ridiculous. My hair felt so sticky, I shouldn’t have put on that much hairspray! I couldn’t look any of the other lolitas in the face. I knew what they were thinking. “How dare she coordinate an Angelic Pretty jumperskirt with clothes from another brand!” I just didn’t fit in with the other girls, dressed in perfect head-to-toe Angelic Pretty outfits. The Cult of Angelic Pretty just wasn’t for me.

5. NOTHING should be written about the character being “a broken doll, a lost princess, the forgotten child of the roses.” NO NO NO. That is not what lolita is about! Yes, Novela Takemoto wrote about that when he describes how to become a perfect maiden, but girls, remember, that advice was given to you by a 34-year old cannabis-smoking GUY.

6. Save your angst for your journal, myspace, facebook, blog, whatever. Although writing is a good outlet for emotions, let’s be honest, no one wants to read the story of your life problems translated over with a few lolita terms thrown in.

7. No characters from other media thrown into your story. That means no anime, manga, TV, movie, book, comic, etc characters thrown into your story to make it more interesting.

8. Write well. Spelling and grammer are vital. Remember to add paragraph breaks, because otherwise it becomes a tl;dr story.

August 17, 2009

As we all know, lolita literature kind of sucks. There’s the ever-ubiquitos “Shimostuma Monogatari” and the classical “Lolita” but let’s face it- most stories about lolita suck ass.

Why? Why do so many stories featuring lolita SUCK? Well, most portray lolita as some kind of fetish, the author completely misunderstands the fashion/the author writes like a sugar-high 13 year-old would write about her “kawaii animu charcters”. Or, perhaps the most annoying of all: lolita stories are all about the lolitas being broken dolls, lost princesses, children of the rosegarden, etc. Basically, wangsty angsty rorita-chans. Lolita Angst

And don’t even get me started on lolita poetry. I cannot stand most poetry to begin with. Most lolita poetry sounds like something a little emo child would write on their MySpace.

Wat r u reeding thar momoko?

So, do I dare to write an example of lolita literature? Can I pull it off without my character being a hopeless example of LOLITA ANGST?! Can I make a story that is not about a princess or a doll? Can I… Can I make a story that does not make the reader roll their eyes and be dissapointed in humanity?

August 16, 2009

This week’s myth is possibly the most over-used, cliche that effects every single lolita. Every ita seems to be afflicted with what we will call, “rorisbpoliteugais-itis”

Go to any website that is a 411 for the lolita style. Sites like Lolita Handbook,etc, will list some of the rules of lolita. They vary from author to author, but one rule will always be there-

“Lolitas should be polite at all times.”

This rule comes from the pages of the Gothic and Lolita bible, when lolita started to become popular. It states that all lolitas should display a level of extreme politeness to everyone they meet. With the Japanese langauge having multiple, and I mean multiple, suffixes, prefixes, additives, preservatives, titles, natural ingriedients for the different levels of polite speak, the lolita in Japan can easily change her speech around to be extremly degrading, or extremly polite.

So of course Western lolitas should be super polite ALL THE TIME, right?

By no means I am saying that everyone should go around and be rude. Not at all. A little polite goes a long way. I’m talking about saying “Thank you/you’re welcome/etc, etc”

But do we really need to be super polite ALL THE TIME.

Let’s look at the differences. Japan is a very non-confrontional society to begin with. People there are polite because they want to avoid a confrontation. The lolitas there expect some stares from passer-by, but very, very rarely will the passer-by shout out at them. h

Western world is a little more in-your-face. Passerby will stare, gape, take pictures, and maybe shout some unkind things to the lolita. So do we need to be the super polite lolita-chan to the people who intentionally go out of their way to humiliate us?

So when the group of tards try and take your picture, I think that no lolita should say,

“No dears, this is not what you think it is. This is lolita fashion, it’s from Japan, blah blah we know the speech.”

Hell no! These jerks don’t deserve a polite reply. They deserve to be ignored, or a witty comment, or even better, a camera whipped out and pictures being taken of them. Lolita’s don’t need to give a polite response to those who don’t show them respect. A witty comment always works better then trying to match the person up with vulgarity or trying to be polite.

So what if we are not acting like the Gothic and Lolita bible ideal? So what if we are not doing what the Japanese lolitas would do? The Gothic and Lolita Bible doesn’t dictate what we do, nor do the Japanese lolita behavior tell us what to do. We are ourselves.

I would rather be a lolita who can stand up for herself then a little doll who religiously follows the ideals of G&L bible.

Have trouble thinking up witty comments? Don’t worry, check the EGL memories, there’s a whole load of comments there that you can use!

This post slightly corresponds with my next Myth-Busting Post, “OMG! U GAIS R SO MEEN JAPANESE RORITAS R NOT MEEN.”

August 11, 2009

It read:
“Today, my boyfriend and I were getting a bit steamy. After a few minutes, he jumps up and runs over to the closet and puts on a long brown jacket putting the hood over to his eyes. He looks me in the eyes and says, “I am Obi Wan Kenobi and I’m going to slay you with my lightsaber.” FML
I never laughed so hard in my life.

August 9, 2009

Now that my articles “The Cult of Angelic Pretty, Part I, II,and III” are all done, I figured I should open another section to this blog. This is called Lolita Myth-Busting and will be a once-a-week thing. Until I run out of myths.

Lolita fashion is filled with rumors, myths, and supposed incidents. Now, don’t come here looking for drama, because none of these myths will be about other lolitas. So, no posts about, “This picture of this one lolita, lolitaonegl was taken. It’s her in Puppet Circus. But it was taken one year before P.C was released. So, what’s the deal?”

This first myth is something that I have been cultivating for a little while now. It’s probably the biggest myth in the lolita world. But it ain’t a good one, so all y’all better listen up, because this girl needs to GTFO and GTFO fast.

“La Carmina is No Lolita”

Most lolitas have heard of this girl, La Carmina (who will be referred to as LC so as not to give her any interweb points). Or La Failmina.

LC is a major blogger who claims to blog on “Gothic and Lolita fashion”. While she does have a basic, but shaky grasp of Gothic and Lolita fashion, she fails to portray it in its rightful manner. A manner that has been decided on and perfected throughout the Lolita timeline. Her blog would be more artfully named for Japanese Gothic Street Fashion. Yet, LC still claims that she is a Lolita “expert”, and her aptness at marketing herself has led others to belief this as well.

LC cannot be called an expert on Lolita fashion, as she does not represent the fashion as a whole, or even one sub-set. It’s difficult to represent every single sub-set of Lolita, but even if you lean more towards Gothic, or Sweet, or Classical, you should not go around criticizing the other sects. LC once referred to Sweet Lolita’s as “mincing pink dollies.” Continuing on this thought, LC constantly mocks other lifestyles that do not adhere to her “cool and edgy gothic” attitude. To me, this shows an immature outlook, and a desperate attempt to try and seem “so edgy”

LC reminds and reminds us that she has traveled to Japan, so of course this makes her The-Expert-On-All-Things-Lolita-and-Japanese. Wrong! Many Lolita’s have either taken a trip or lived in Japan (check out Xelyna the Gothic Lolita’s blog) She peppers her blog entries with “kawaii” “sayonara” “bentoo” etc. Going to Japan does not make you an expert on Lolita. It just gives you that little stamp in your passport.

There are multiple Lolita communities throughout the internet, and LC does not participate in any of them. As Muten Sutra said in her amazing article, “La Carmina Is Not a Lolita Expert”; “One would think that a person with their finger on the pulse on the fashion would be an active part in the largest community.” LC does not participate because the EGL girls do not seem to find her “Lolita” outfits acceptable. A person who is not familiar with this fashion might think, “Gee, that’s a little harsh. Why are the EGL girls being so mean?”

The EGL community on LiveJournal is considered the heart and soul of the Western Lolita world. On it, you can find Lolita’s from all over the world, in all varying degrees and styles of Lolita. EGL contains everything from picture posts, requests, tutorials, and advice and support from other Lolita’s. (Check the memories. They contain wonders.) LC is not a part in this community. She does not follow any other Western Lolita community to see what is up. Although the EGL community is criticized for being “mean” and “elitist”, it is a vital source for any starting Lolita.

To be blunt, LC’s marketing of herself makes her “a Lolita expert. She brags how her blog gets over two million hits a month, and she has legions of fans. Most Lolita’s on EGL are more inclined to believe that most of the hits are self-generated, and the “fans” are just LC posting under a different name. There was actually a mini-investigation last year into this, where all the praising, loving comments on her blog were found to have come from the same IP address. This is just a rumor thought. But it seems to fit into her trend of being a general attention-grabbing, I-am-so-superior-look-at-all-the-people-who-love-me ways.

Are we other Lolita’s just being mean? Are we just jealous that she is the “Lolita expert” and we’re not? Are we all butthurt and BAWWWWING about how she is the supposed “western Lolita expert?” NOPE.

What makes Lolita’s in the EGL community dislike her so much is that she constantly provides a stream of false information concerning “Lolita”. (i.e. – anything with a ruffle and some lace on it is so Lolita).

Polite comments and attempts to tell her that her Lolita outfits are a little bit off, and if she did ____ and ___ it would make it better, have been met with rudeness and snide comments. She’s been known to outright delete comments that do not favor her, to make it seem like she only has adoring fans. She maintains that her way of dressing Lolita is the only way, and we are all just being haters because we are not cool or creative enough to dress in ripped t-shirts and ruffled miniskirts and call it Lolita.

The final straw was when she disrupted a fashion show at the New York Comic-Con meant for American Lolita designers. She called the stage “too drab” and filled with sweet Lolita “mincing dollies”; hence she jumped on the stage to prance around a bit in the name of her gothic rebellion. She had to be removed by the security off the stage. THIS MADE US LOLITAS VERY ANGRY.

As her blog is regarded by press to be “the source for gothic and lolita”, it is only an asset to the lolita community that a better blog is opened. Some people who are not familiar with the style may wonder why we take so much offense and start so much drama over a matter like this. The answer’s simple- we want people to have a positive outlook on lolita fashion. We dress in a ridiculous style that many find odd- but we want people to know that lolita is so much more then cheap black lipstick paired with a ripped shirt. It’s so much more.

So to everyone who is new to Lolita or whatever, listen! There are so many other bloggers on Lolita. They may not update every second. They may not post pictures of themselves constantly. But they know the Lolita fashion, and they know what they are talking about. So do some research before you suppose anyone is an expert on Lolita fashion. In my opinion, I don’t think anyone is. Every Lolita worth her ribbons can tell you how it started, what makes Lolita, some Lolita brands, etc. Lolita fashion changes so much in style it’s hard to be an expert on it, like you would be with history or something.

Yeah, this article is totes biased. But you have to know that the EGL community does not like this girl and her attention-whoring ways. Seriously. Do you want someone to bastardize your alternate fashion that isn’t taken seriously in the first place?

We are not being mean. We have a sub-culture, underground fashion that is looked at as an oddity by the typical person. While lolitas love the fashion, we all admit to some degree that we look ridiculous to the passerby. While the average person may not take our fashion seriously, we want them to know that lolitas are good girls. We eat, sleep, drink, and act like people. We just like our skirts poofy and we like us some frills. LC’s outlook on the fashion (and her actions) makes it seem like lolitas are all just dumb chicks who wear ratty stockings, don’t wash our hair/can’t do our makeup, and that we are just edgy people trying to be rebellious and get attention. As the Lolita subculture is in a very precarious spot with the media, we need all the good representation we can get. LC is just not making that cut.